Before the workshop
Reflect on your current writing project and consider the aspects of language you find important and challenging:
Identify your main insecurities:
Construction of sentences?
Using the right terminology?
Style or register?
Something else, or not sure?
Use the following questions to help you identify specific language issues in your text: Choose a recently published paper in your field and select two or three consecutive paragraphs from the Introduction or Discussion.
What is the central idea of each paragraph?
Are the two paragraphs distinct? How?
Are they connected by relational devices?
Now focus on a single longish paragraph (at least 8 sentences):
How is the content organised within the paragraph (e.g., spatially, temporally, general to specific, least to most important)?
Rewrite the paragraph twice, with the same content, but each time with a different organisational scheme. Which of the three versions is most effective? Why?
In the original, identify some relational devices that lead the reader through the paragraph. In your rewritten paragraph, what relational devices did you use?
Analyse paragraphs for function and cohesion in your writing and in the models provided:
Is there one controlling idea only?
Do all the sentences relate to this controlling idea?
Is there a concluding sentence?
Is the paragraph constructed in a coherent manner?
Does the paragraph flow?
Does the paragraph relate to the research problem?
Read and watch the following topics covering aspects related to paragraphs, sentences, words, and punctuation. Reflect on how this information will help your writing process.
Apply the specific aspects and functions discussed to different sections of your text:
How are your paragraphs constructed?
How do your sentences flow?
What type of words do you use, and do you use them effectively?
Evaluate your punctuation markings in your text.
Evaluate which aspects of language you seem to follow intuitively and which aspects you do not.
After completing these exercises, elaborate on your findings in the Discord channel. If you're still unsure or have questions, reach out to your group members and/or Susanna and Katarina.
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